When Campagnolo released their first crankset in 1959, it was the first crankset to be designed to work synchronously with other drivetrain parts. The heritage Italian brand used the word “gruppo” (literally translated as “group”) to describe this complete collection of bicycle parts designed to work in tandem. ‘Gruppo’ obviously gave way to the widely accepted modern-day term of “groupset,” which we still hear every time we step into a bike shop.  

The words and terms assigned to things often shape the way we view reality, and since 1959, we’ve all been quietly taught that cranks should match drivetrains. It’s designed to go together, so surely, no other combination could be any better, right? But what if a crank existed that was more resilient, stronger, lighter, and stiffer?  

Since they were introduced, eeWings have been praised for their unmatched durability, low weight, stiffness, and timeless aesthetic. They still have no legitimate competition in the marketplace, despite having been out there for a number of years now. Made entirely of machined and welded titanium, they exceed the international fatigue test standard for bicycle cranks by double. They’ve been independently tested and found to be one of the stiffest cranks on the market, allowing them to transfer more of your energy to the rear wheel (fig. a). They’re as light as carbon cranks – in fact, lighter than many of the mainstream competitors that you see spec’ed on high end stock builds. Lastly, they have a unique ability to look absolutely stunning on any type of bike, regardless of classification or frame material. There’s a certain human quality to eeWings because they display beautifully handcrafted welds, laid by a masterful human hand. Like a classic, hand-welded frame, there’s an undeniable ability of these tubular metal cranks to speak more to the soul than something mass produced in carbon fiber. Perhaps it’s because a simpler form is easier to wrap our head around and therefore feels like we can commune with it on some esoteric level. To me, eeWings are like aviator sunglasses: certain to still be relevant and look good decades into the future. All this being said, it’s been somewhat complicated to run eeWings on bikes with multiple front chainrings (2x setups) because of the often-proprietary manner in which chainrings attach to crankarms.  

Gravel bikes are becoming wildly capable, at times surpassing the levels of comfort and off-road control of early mountain bikes from 30 years ago. We’re asking them to handle more than many of us have ever asked of our drop bar bikes before. Cranks that come stock on gravel bikes are essentially borrowed from road bike designs and often aren’t really able to handle years of off-road abuse (fig. b)   

Today we’re introducing a chainring spider that will provide a perfect solution for gravel riders looking to build a bike that truly inspires them and that can take the strain they’re putting it through. Using the GRX Chainring Spider, anyone with a Shimano GRX drivetrain can invest in what I’ll personally claim as the ‘best cranks on planet earth’ and easily substitute them for the crankset that’s on their bike. They can do this while using the chainrings that they already own. In the same manner laid out by Campy many years ago, the chainrings will match the drivetrain’s performance needs and the cranks can now integrate into the drivetrain seamlessly with no concern for shift performance or fitment woes.  

One of the roles of a company like ours, that produces premium alternative components, is to show riders that they don’t have to accept cookie-cutter bicycle spec. They can have the freedom to build something unique that will offer tangible rider benefit beyond that which is offered by a stock build.  

(a) https://www.fairwheelbikes.com/blogs/posts/road-bike-crank-stiffness-test/?srsltid=AfmBOoo8YmVI_ciOcpovd5gvweOZsF1CfcTySe5VWgzTd1XmEJfGaPhi 

(b) Broken carbon gravel cranks from a friend of mine who rides a lot. The aluminum pedal thread insert is simply bonded into the end of the crankarm. It’s a common weak point that we’ve observed time and again on carbon cranks. On eeWings this interface is welded. Good luck breaking it!